Book Reviews 11/2018

How fair is this? On Halloween, we creep into Stephen King's lair for terrors and scares, but he offers us insight and courage instead. You'll chew through a few chapters of “Elevation” before realizing that there's no razor blade in this caramel apple ...(Nov 1, 2018, The Columbus Dispatch)

Book Review "Ottavia ei Gatti di Roma"

This bilingual picture book in Italian and English is an adventurous story featuring two cats, Octavia and Julius, who call the ancient monuments of Rome their home. Children follow the cats as they journey through Rome's most famous sites including ...(Nov 1, 2018, www.lagazzettaitaliana.com)

Book Review: 'Elevation'

After over four decades of banging out best-sellers, Stephen King still has the power to surprise his beloved constant readers. Consider "Elevation," which the book jacket calls a novel, but which clocks in under 150 pages and takes about 90 minutes to ...(Nov 1, 2018, Aspen Times)

9 New Books We Recommend This Week

“King also has in mind the weight of close-mindedness and prejudice,” Gilbert Cruz writes in his review, noting that one of King's “great strengths is the ease with which he can sketch a community or a group of friends.” Cruz adds that the book has “a ...(Nov 1, 2018, New York Times)

The Book at the End of the World

When, toward the end of his life, Northrop Frye (1912-1991) began to write about the Bible as the source code for Western culture, he was not trying to convert anyone to anything. He had been ordained as a Protestant minister before becoming an English ...(Nov 2, 2018, Inside Higher Ed)

Tracing tensions between astronomers and the military

In his book “Accessory to War,” Tyson pursues his reconciliation. Through ample research and nimble storytelling, Tyson and his co-author and longtime editor and researcher, Avis Lang, trace the long and tangled relationship between state power and ...(Nov 2, 2018, Washington Post)

Book Review: The Tango War

Complete with spies, submarines and even Walt Disney, The Tango War is a look at the lesser known, yet critically important, WW2 front of Latin America. West Lafayette Public Library Director Nick Schenkel has the review. TweetShareGoogle+Email ...(Nov 2, 2018, WBAA)

Book Review: The Fish Market

I'm Connie Bennett with a book review of “The Fish Market” by Lee van der Voo. Well, sure, I like to eat fish. And I'm concerned about sustainability. But beyond carrying the Seafood Watch list of endangered fish in my purse, I hadn't really followed ...(Nov 2, 2018, KLCC FM Public Radio)

On racism, freedom and a new definition of masculinity

Working- and middle-class whites and people of color are being screwed, yet one searches in vain in Powell's book for any hint of how to bring these oppressed groups together to confront their real enemy. It is a shame, because Powell does have ...(Nov 2, 2018, Washington Post)

In the race for supremacy in artificial intelligence, it's US innovation vs. Chinese ambition

In his book “AI Superpowers,” Kai-Fu Lee, a well-known artificial-intelligence expert, venture capitalist and former president of Google China, argues that China and Silicon Valley will lead the world in AI. But his highly readable book covers a lot of ...(Nov 2, 2018, Washington Post)

Lenovo Yoga Book 2018 review: The keyless keyboard returns, now in E Ink

Lenovo's quirky Yoga Book is back with some significant updates for 2018. The original Yoga Book was a unique hybrid of a tablet sporting a "halo" keyboard panel with no actual keys and a real paper drawing pad. Part netbook and part convertible, this ...(Nov 2, 2018, Ars Technica)

Surveying the shape of this monster takes up the first third of Bruce Schneier's latest book, Click Here to Kill Everybody: Security and Survival in a Hyper-Connected World. Anyone who follows security can probably skip most of it, as it's largely ...(Nov 2, 2018, ZDNet)

'Broad City' Star Abbi Jacobson Gets Candid in New Book

The stories — and lessons learned — are told through essays, anecdotes, and casual observations in the 320-page book, which is peppered with illustrations drawn by Jacobson herself. The actress wrote the book in between writing for Season 5 of “Broad ...(Nov 2, 2018, Variety)

BOOK REVIEW: 'Death Checks In'

In 1947, being gay could get a man in trouble. But Milwaukee detective Heath Barrington knew there'd be more anonymity for him and officer Alan Keyes at the posh Edmonton Hotel in Chicago. With plenty of entertainment nearby and a live show with a band ...(Nov 2, 2018, outsmartmagazine.com)

BOOK REVIEW: 'The Trans Generation'

Boy or girl? That's a common-enough question, if you're an expectant parent. You might've even wondered it yourself: will you need pink things or blue, and what name will you choose? For generations, those have been exciting decisions for prospective ...(Nov 2, 2018, outsmartmagazine.com)

Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah on 'Friday Black' - The New York Times

Black people being murdered is unfortunately a constant in this country. Murdered with impunity. It's something that's constantly on my mind,” Adjei-Brenyah says ...(Nov 2, 2018, New York Times)

There are some women who dream of extravagant proposals full of heartfelt romance. Nikole Paterson isn't one of them. In her sophomore novel, Jasmine Guillory uses a botched grand gesture to pair a Los Angeles doctor and a freelance writer in the most ...(Nov 2, 2018, Chicago Daily Herald)

And the chase began, one of you the pursuer, the other pursued, racing through park or playground, across the yard, down the sidewalk in a game that children have been playing forever. Catch me if you can, and escape wins the game. In the new book ...(Nov 2, 2018, Fergus Falls Daily Journal)

Book review: The debates goes on in '1000 Books to Read Before You Die'

Workman Publishing scored a large and unexpected success with Patricia Schultz's 2003 book 1,000 Places to See Before You Die, a personal and wide-ranging compendium of travel destinations the author considered unmissable. Customers bought the ...(Nov 3, 2018, The National)

Jonathan Lethem is back on the detective beat looking for America's troubled soul

Who can really be saved in our collapsing society is the question that rumbles below these pages, but the story races along so fast you'll barely notice you've entered such dark territory till it's too late to head back. Ron Charles writes about books ...(Nov 3, 2018, Washington Post)

Book review: 'Conviction' is a dynamite book about a missionary imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit

Author Robbin J. Peterson's book is an amazing one. Mystery, faith and realistic relationships are all thrillingly contained in “Conviction.” Peterson makes sure that reading about Neal's growing closeness to God and how his choice to continue his ...(Nov 3, 2018, Deseret News)

BOOK REVIEW: The First Scientific American by Joyce E. Chaplin

Her book gives Franklin his scientific due. She delves deeply into his experiments with lightning, including the famed kite in the storm, his shipboard observations and experiments in the Gulf Stream, work in meteorology, population estimates, etc ...(Nov 3, 2018, Valdosta Daily Times)

BOOK REVIEW: Tribute to an Unknown Soldier by George Boston Rhynes

He was a soldier who transcends time to save all mankind. “Tribute to an Unknown Soldier” is a spiritual work, an allegory, that reflects upon the New Testament sacrifice to save the souls of humanity. George Boston Rhynes wrote the work as a poem in ...(Nov 3, 2018, Valdosta Daily Times)

Book Review: How Behavior Spreads

It has become a cliché to say that something has “gone viral,” and hardly a day (or a newscast) goes by that I don't hear that tired phrase at least once. Beyond popular memes, just what is the science of how behaviors spread? Do behaviors really ...(Nov 3, 2018, PsychCentral.com)

Book review: Writers show Capone, Ness couldn't measure up to their hype

This reviewer knows little of Chicago and the history of the double-breasted-suit-and-fedora gangster era, so he's unable to say whether this is a definitive book of that time. The effort Collins and Schwartz put in to the manuscript does suggest they ...(Nov 4, 2018, Fredericksburg.com)

Book review: 'Grant' rethinks clouded image of former president

This is a sympathetic story, told in a very large book. Not sympathetic in the sense of being mawkish or sappily sentimental, but filled with compassion for a man who found himself at the center of vast events, and by his own character and unflinching ...(Nov 4, 2018, Roanoke Times)

Book review: 'The Reckoning'

Mississippians – born in one of the poorest, least educated states in America – have won nine Pulitzer Prizes for literature or theater, six National Book Awards, two Presidential Medals of Freedom, the Nobel Prize in literature, and served as the poet ...(Nov 4, 2018, Bowling Green Daily News)

Book review: 'Titans' profiles interesting people -- good and bad -- from history

TITANS OF HISTORY: THE GIANTS WHO MADE OUR WORLD. Author: Simon Sebag Montefiore. Data: Vintage Books, 622 pages, $20. You could call these “Teacup Biographies.” That is not to imply that they are not without weight. Quite the contrary. Most of ...(Nov 4, 2018, The Florida Times-Union)

Book review: Barbara Kingsolver's multigenerational tale is a real Treat

A few years ago, I bought floral wallpaper covered in flowers and vines and Venus flytraps and ants. Designed by a small company called Grow House Grow, the name of the pattern was “Ms. Treat.” The design was inspired by Mary Treat, an American ...(Nov 4, 2018, Press Herald)

With a deft absurdist touch and biting wit, Margaret Broucek details the fraught lives of a Marine sniper impersonator and a struggling teacher with a yen for cryptozoology. Maine writers seem to have a penchant for lingering over insignificant actions ...(Nov 4, 2018, Press Herald)

Book review: King raises the bar with 'Elevation'

“Elevation” (Scribner), by Stephen King. After more than four decades of banging out best- sellers, Stephen King still has the power to surprise his beloved “constant readers.” Consider “Elevation,” which the book jacket calls a novel, but which clocks ...(Nov 4, 2018, Worcester Telegram)

Oklahoman book review: Debut space-opera 'The Stars Now Unclaimed' hits all the right marks

"The Stars Now Unclaimed" by Drew Williams (Tor Books, 448 pages, in stores). If you're looking for a full-on space opera with nearly constant battles and characters you can actually grow to love, then Drew Williams' debut novel is perfect for you ...(Nov 4, 2018, NewsOK.com)

Book review | 'The Library Book' explores fire that burned a million works

In her new book, Susan Orlean begins with a crime story of arson, but ultimately and most important, delivers a history of and celebration of that ever-evolving institution — the public library. “The Library Book” is exciting, thoroughly readable and ...(Nov 4, 2018, The Columbus Dispatch)

Book Review - "Taliban Narratives: The Use and Power of Stories in the Afghanistan Conflict"

Those wondering how the Taliban persist as an insurgency can look to Johnson's recent book, “Taliban Narratives: The Use and Power of Stories in the Afghanistan Conflict,” which is soon to be translated into Dari and Pashto. America's 17-year war in ...(Nov 4, 2018, smallwarsjournal (blog))

Book review: Debut novel 'Price of Jade' offers suspense

While geared toward a Latter-day Saint audience with frequent references to church practices, the book could easily appeal to a wider audience. "The Price of Jade" contains no swearing but does reference acts of war, including rape and murder, though ...(Nov 4, 2018, Deseret News)

BOOK REVIEW: David Giannini's 'The Future Only Rattles When You Pick It Up' are poems witty, wise, with bold truth ...

BOOK REVIEW: David Giannini's 'The Future Only Rattles When You Pick It Up' are poems witty, wise, with bold truth ...(Nov 4, 2018, theberkshireedge.com)

There's a scary tree in the garden

ANALYSIS/OPINION: THE WITCH ELM. By Tana French. Viking, $28, 528 pages. There's nothing like a good mystery to distract from a wrenching news cycle. And the award-winning Tana French does not disappoint with her latest, “The Witch Elm,” a novel ...(Nov 4, 2018, Washington Times)

Book Review: The Ten Worlds: The New Psychology of Happiness

While happiness is a universal goal, and one that is uniquely linked to our survival, it is also elusive. It is so elusive that for many, the idea that it is better to look for moments of happiness rather than enduring happiness comes as a relief. In ...(Nov 4, 2018, PsychCentral.com)

Book review: 'The President Is Missing' by James Patterson and Bill Clinton

Based on the title of the book, I expected President Jonathan Ducann to be kidnapped or otherwise taken from the scene and a crisis to ensue. There is a crisis, or series of them, but not a kidnapping. With the Legislative branch under the control of ...(Nov 4, 2018, Thecountyline)

Taine Club members hear book review

On Oct. 22, Taine Club members met at the home of Helene Moog, club treasurer, for their fall meeting. President Karen Babb welcomed all. Reports were heard and new member Vicki Rathbun was welcomed. The program for the day, a book review, was ...(Nov 5, 2018, The Bryan Times)

A popular senator hides his violent ways in a novel that feels eerily prescient

But then there are novels that fall into relevancy by accident, allowing them to feel both immediate and timeless. Idra Novey's second novel, “Those Who Knew,” is such a book. Coming out the day of the midterm elections and soon after our newest ...(Nov 5, 2018, Washington Post)

Book review: China AI: How China will dominate AI and Blockchain technology

Chris Rynning's book on AI in China reveals his deep understanding of the country, culture, and economics of the region. A Norwegian by birth and a graduate of the famous ESSEC in Paris followed up by an MBA from Chicago, Rynning lived and worked in ...(Nov 5, 2018, Graphic Speak (blog))

Book Review: 'Cult City' By Daniel J. Flynn | Daily Wire

Author and columnist Daniel J. Flynn tackles not one, but two 20th century American historical figures in "Cult City: Jim Jones, Harvey Milk, and 10 Days That ...(Nov 5, 2018, The Daily Wire)

Book Review: Owning Bipolar

The subtitle of Michael Pipich's new book, Owning Bipolar: How Patients and Families Can Take Control of Bipolar Disorder, should be enough for those with bipolar disorder and their family members to want to pick up this book and embrace it. Bipolar ...(Nov 5, 2018, PsychCentral.com)

There will be a cascade of revelations before the last page, with almost no narrative ribbon left untied; the book's innate breeziness often makes way for deeper reflections on grief, trauma, and recovery, and more than one surprisingly topical angle ...(Nov 5, 2018, EW.com (blog))

Book nerds, grab your ear buds: Here are 8 of the best literary podcasts

Three impassioned readers talk and argue about books. One of the trio of hosts is the actor Rider Strong, formerly of the sitcom “Boy Meets World.” On recent episodes, the group has debated “Lord of the Flies,” by William Golding, and the poetry ...(Nov 6, 2018, Washington Post)

Book Review: “Lebanon: A Country in Fragments” is full of caustic and often funny remarks

The title of this book, “Lebanon: A Country in Fragments” by Andrew Arsan, conveys the impact inflicted by the ongoing crises and continuous blows against Lebanon since the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri in 2005. For the past 13 ...(Nov 6, 2018, Arab News)